Macon's Leadership on the Day of Apology

Simply put, the Day of Apology has been an absolute disaster for Macon. The majority of the day's failure simply has to do with the fact that Macon's not really as great of a leader of the masses as he believes himself to be. What he's been doing throughout the entire Day of Apology is going out expecting the world of his followers with expectations high as the moon, ultimately having to conclude with, "I was wrong to think that you've got what it takes to change. Forget apologizing. It'll only make things worse." Macon's definitely beginning to lose faith in his followers by the end of this major event because he wanted and expected "erudite, die-for-the-cause radicals." What he got instead were moderates of the cause, and he honestly has no idea how to speak to them.

Macon is decidedly on the far end of the bell-curve, and he thrives there. His radicalism and strive to be different are what make him a good leader to those who are passionate about his cause because he brims with confidence about what he's doing. People who aren't hellbent on Macon's agenda, however, are easily disturbed by his personality and methods or are simply following him for the wrong reasons. This is largely why the media picked up on him, he made a very good story. Unfortunately for him, with his appearance on television, his target audience seems to have gone from very niche to very widespread, and his radical ideology isn't really tailored to that crowd.

Macon is really counting on his followers people to use their own brains on the Day of Apology instead of blindly following him to the letter, which ironically enough, is largely what he's been doing with previous civil rights leaders. "Malcolm never said what black people's response should be when white folks started apologizing." He forms a lot of his own ideas, but for the most part, he just set the Day of Apology in motion and hoped it would go in roughly the right direction, not wanting to craft it to his agenda at all. Whether this is laziness on his part of just a massive level overconfidence in his followers, I can't really tell. He really just wanted people to begin thinking about day-to-day racial issues within the context of the modern day and instead got violent and somewhat misguided riots in the streets with no real enlightenment occurring for either party involved. To me, Macon's hard fall definitely seems to be inevitable.

And They Lived Happily Ever After

Except not really. Presumably Jack and Ma will continue to live fairly happy lives together. Unfortunately, they don't get to just sit back and instantly assimilate themselves straight back into society. They'll face some serious challenges and continue to to have some very rough spots, especially for Jack. Their journey is very much not over, and due to the nature of the relationship between a mother and her son, never will be. So what exactly does the end of Room represent, if clearly not Jack and Ma's heroic adventure with each other?

To me, it looks like the ending of Room represents the end of Jack and Ma's relationship to Room itself. Throughout the entire second act of the novel both Ma and Jack have been doing their best to detach themselves completely from Room; Ma because she desperately wants to, Jack because he slowly understands that he has to. Since his escape, he had been looking at the entire world through the lens of Room, and the detachment to it in his language and behavior in the final scenes highly suggests that Room has finally transitioned into more of a memory for him than a limitation. Their final goodbyes really indicate to me how much they've come from the beginning of the book and provide the reader with some nice closure by bringing the whole story around full circle.

Personally, I thought it was one of the best endings the book could have done.

The Growing Rift

I'm a few dozen pages into After at this point, and some interesting dynamics are definitely beginning to develop. Spoilers beware if you haven't done much of this reading yet.

in Dying, Jack plunged himself face-first with his safety on the line into a universe he knew basically nothing about, where he had to rescue Ma, alone. This a terrifying experience and almost certainly a traumatic one for him. To say his whole world has been turned upside down would be an understatement. As far as he could tell, he and Ma had just lived there peacefully forever, but with their escape, their true differences begin to emerge. For seven years Ma had been presumably been fantasizing about what she would do once she got out, and with her escape, she can't wait to return to normal life as best she can. Jack, on the other hand, knows nothing other than Room, and so, in a complete role reversal, Outside seems to feel more like the prison to him.

This is especially interesting because neither Ma nor Jack seem to be fully aware so far about what exactly the other is feeling, both just seem to kind of translate their emotions onto the other person, more or less assuming that they should both feel the same way. This mentality disalignment has increasingly caused them to butt heads in the hospital, and I greatly look forward to how both characters, as well as their intense relationship, develop throughout the rest of the novel. We're not even half way done yet with Jack and Ma's story.

Who is the Real Hero?

We're around half-way through the novel by this point, and an important aspect of the book that still seems to be somewhat ambiguous is who the true hero of the story is. On the one hand, Jack is the narrator of Room, and thus it's his story to tell. Surely he would go ahead and make himself the hero. The book is presented in a way such that Jack is central to the story and everything appears to revolve around him, seeming to make his actions the most impactful. As we've learned in this last section of the book Dying, Jack appears to be literally risking his life to free Ma and himself. Sure sounds pretty heroic.

On the other hand, Odysseus' crew risked their lives constantly, and yet we don't call them the heroes of the story. The hero there is the brains behind the operation, Odysseus himself, who appears to be analogous to Ma. Jack didn't come up with any decent plan of escape whatsoever, nor did he really have any desire to do so either (not really of any fault of his own). He ended up being forced to go through with the final plan by their leader, Ma, in a state of total cowardice.

That's a really harsh way of me to put it. Although Jack did fight very hard against the plan, he did end up going through with it, and although he was no doubt experiencing the most terror he'd ever felt before, he executed it flawlessly. Credit where it's due to Ma as well, resisting the urge to stay cooped up in Room until the end of time with her son and instead deciding to risk it all for a very real chance at freedom, all while keeping Jack calm and comforted. I really don't have a definitive answer as to who the primary hero in the story is. I think the concept of an equally dual heroship is a very interesting possibility here, and I'm certainly interested in what others of you have to say about it.

Norma's Impact on Smithy

With Smithy's journey having decidedly come to a close by the end of the story, I can't help but realize just how huge of an impact Norma had on Smithy throughout his great cross-country bikeride. He initially set out with the sole intention of escaping his current situation and taking time to reflect on past events in order to more fully understand how he ended up in the depressed, unhealthy, friendless state he was in, and how to fix it. To me, Norma seemed to play just a big a part in this "quest" of his as Smithy did.

Throughout his whole journey, Norma's been Smithy's rock, his guide, his primary source of joy. He's basically dedicated his ride to her. She's also been a central figure of kindness, much like Smithy has, helping to keep him focused on the goodness of humanity rather than to let all of the terrible things people on his journey have done to him get to his head. She contributes to his understanding of compassion, really giving him the strength to continue his ride for her and his sister.

Norma has been an inspiration for Smithy the whole way. Through most of the story, Smithy has had profoundly low self-esteem, and it's really not until he sees Norma, physically crippled yet still tackling life with confidence that he begins to free himself of his harsh thoughts. Slowly, through both example and through the way she treats him, Smithy regains his self-esteem and gains a certain level of confidence that he didn't have before, culminating in his love relationship with Norma. Sure seems like this journey would have been a whole lot more difficult for Smithy without her.

James Franco's Vision and Mine

One of the greatest things about As I Lay Dying is how much in the gray area the novel is with humor. Is it a tragic parable meant to be taken dead seriously? Is it a humorous story designed to be laughed at? Guess what, it's up to you! Franco's approach certainly seemed to be closer to that of the former though. From what little we saw in class on Wednesday (and yes, I'm basing my whole post on just that much but I hope to watch it in its entirety later on), Franco paints the book in a much darker, creepier, more serious tone, and I'm not too sure how much I liked it.

I appreciated what he was going for with the split screens and I thought it was interesting how much the movie was tailored very specifically to those who had already read the book. I just wish he would have included a bit more humor in some of the scenes we had seen. The book is neither inherently funny nor is it inherently somber. It's a mix, and if I were to create my own movie adaptation of As I Lay Dying I would definitely be sure to bring out the best of both. I feel like the movie could have absolutely worked with having very quick changes in mood, depicting something like the river scene as very amusing then suddenly showing its more serious side.

I understand that not everything in the book is meant to be taken as a joke (Looking at you, poor Dewey Dell), but I think there's merit in the critique of the movie that it's "too artsy" and taking itself a bit seriously. I'd like to see a version where the clash between Jewel and Cash is laughable, where Anse Bundren is more of a Delmar-ish character. As I Lay Dying is a book that became so much better once I could see the lighter side of things, and I feel like a movie would be as well.

"Why Are You Anse"

One discussion topic that I've found we keep returning to is the debate of whether or not Anse can be considered a heroic figure. Can his journey be described as an act of heroism? I feel like for the most part the book has done a good job of keeping it very much in the gray area for me, that is, right up until the very last chapter. It was those final few paragraphs that put a whole lot into perspective for me and made me see that no, this really wasn't a particularly heroic journey for Anse Bundren.

Initially, I had found myself defending Anse, explaining how this was a journey for his deceased wife and it was heroic simply because these kind of journeys were such a massively huge deal for him. The thing is, he began to lose perspective of that, Samson even going so far as to remark that he enjoyed the challenges he faced out there because they made him seem braver than he really was. His stubbornness would never allow him to return back (Gotta get those teeth, ya know?). The trip was no longer a challenge for him because he had his whole team slaving away mercilessly, doing their best to get him to Jefferson.

The whole idea behind a heroic journey is that a protagonist faces adversity that causes them to undergo a transformation, and unfortunately, Anse is easily one of the most static characters in the entire book. It's so bad that I could easily see his actions in the final chapter as exactly something he would have done all those years ago when he met Addie as well. He let others deal with his problems the whole way and completely lost sight of his original mission, spending more time picking out teeth and getting a new wife than putting his last one in the ground.

Anse is the winner of the Bundrens, no doubt about it. He is the only one where everything goes according to plan. Meanwhile all of his children have been completely and utterly screwed over in one way or another. They all have undergone transformations and sacrifice, so where's his? I feel like Anse certainly had the potential to be a heroic figure, but being Anse, it slid right past him.

Concealed Emotion

All of the characters in As I lay Dying have reacted to Addie's death in one way or another. In class, we've especially been assessing everyone's different emotional reactions and I've begun to realize that each family member has a very unique way of showing or expressing their grief. One of the biggest questions I've been thinking about is how Anse, Cash, and Vardaman all expresses emotion, and it's certainly an interesting question to delve into.

Upon Addie's death, Anse is definitely described as being the clumsiest of the family. His "claw-like hands," his extreme incapacity to help out Cash, his reluctance/inability to do any work, etc. all make him a rather tragic character. Despite his failings to really do anything laborious for Addie, he clearly feels grief and anxiety, as most obviously demonstrated by the constant rubbing of his knees and his absolute stubbornness to continue his monumental (for him personally at least) journey to Jefferson for his wife. His journey is so far out of his comfort zone that it really is, for the most part, a way for him to demonstrate remorse for Addie's death. I think that he truly believes this as well.

Cash is interesting because, like Anse, he doesn't seem to be doing anything obvious to grieve Addie at first. But it slowly becomes clear just how invested he is in making this perfect coffin for her. It's not just work for him. it's his craft, a work of art do demonstrate his love for her, a present essentially. His constant protection of the box isn't just him taking pride in his work, but also him taking care of his gift to his mother. Cash really isn't one to express emotion through hugs and kisses, but that certainly doesn't mean that he's just a robot.

Vardaman really doesn't know how to show remorse for his mother's death. He's still a very little kid and only understands death in a very limited way. His angst over the fish is the chief way that he expresses grief, as he understands how, like the fish, his mother was there, underwent some sort of non-physical transformation, and now just isn't. He is extremely concerned about the preparation of the fish for food, and is upset about imagining the equivalent for his mother.

I see these three characters as three of the most emotional characters in the book, they just all have very different methods of expression. Once I realized and comprehended that they do in fact have feelings of their own, the book attains a new level of depth for me and becomes even more intriguing than before.

The Formidable Foe Odysseus

Book 22 was a crazy book to read for me. It was expected, inevitable, but still upsetting. Instead of a hero mowing down fighting suitors in glorious combat like in some cartoon, I feel like it was more of a depiction of Odysseus striking down, one by one, defenseless, begging, miserable suitors in a fit of rage. Eurymachus is the very first to plead with him, offering wealth and loyalty, claiming to not even blame Odysseus for his rage. Odysseus kills him. Later, Leodes begs for mercy as well, expressing how he is an innocent suitor, not to be lumped in with the others. Odysseus kills him. Phemius then comes up to Odysseus and begs for mercy on the grounds that he's just a singer. Odysseus would have killed him in a heartbeat if it weren't for Telemachus' interjection only then telling him who he shouldn't be killing. Fairly rotten planning there, I guess.

Odysseus feels much more like a villain in this book than a hero. His boasting, all-or-nothing attitude, and merciless sword don't make him the most compelling of characters in this scene. He could have diffused the entire situation by exposing himself as Odysseus, perhaps killing the suitors that he truly felt deserved to die, and harshly threatening all of the rest. He's already a legend, a heroic story told to everyone about the fall of Troy, a formidable figure, not to mention a king. His threat would probably be worth quite a lot to these men. The death toll required to get Odysseus home is easily in the hundreds by this point.

The suitors did not have my sympathy, that much is for certain. But neither did Odysseus really by this point, and it was also the first time that I felt that Athena's help was really unnecessary. The battle was completely rigged and still Odysseus pretended numerous times that the suitors had some sort of other option. They suitors never really got a chance to defend their actions, which I would have actually been interested in reading.

Am I cutting the suitors too much slack? I feel like I kind of did that a bit in my last post. It's fun contemplating the other side of the fight, and this was certainly a very good chapter for it.

Sympathy for the Suiters

It's incredibly obvious that the suiters are painted to look like the bad guys as much as possible by Homer. From the very beginning they are depicted as incredibly abusive of Telemachus' hospitality, lounging around the palace doing nothing but eat and complain and plot murder. Later on, their cruelty extends to Odysseus himself, resorting to throwing things at him (disguised as the beggar) and they are painted as pure evil, no doubt to build suspense and anticipation for their impending deaths.

The hatred placed on them is so heavy-handed though, Homer may as well just say "Hey, look! These are the bad guys! Right here!" From a story-telling perspective, all the hatred for them is pretty great. It'll make the ending just that much more satisfying. Once the suiters are more closely examined, however, I feel like their fates may seem just a tad bit unfair. First and foremost, from a legal perspective, they really have every right to be there and capital punishment is, for the most part, unjustified. Penelope's husband has been missing for a whopping 20 years now, and there isn't a single person we've met so far who truly believes that he'll be returning. Alone, abuse of hospitality really isn't punishable by death. The suiters are there to form a political bond, and the moment that Penelope does that, presumably they will leave Telemachus and her alone.

They've been in an awkward limbo for quite some time now, and lounging around probably does seem like a viable option to them now. They don't just want to leave and accept Ithaca as being king-less, and at the same time, Penelope refuses to choose anybody. For at least the first part of the story, Telemachus has just been a doormat, so they really don't feel to threatened by him. The suiters feel that the kingdom is dysfunctional in its current state without a definite ruler and are just sorta rolling with that for the time being. Their agitation is somewhat justified in this regard.

In addition to all of this, the suiters aren't even completely under their own free will. Not once, but multiple times has Athena used her magical god-powers to intimidate them with Telemachus' larger-than-life form and in various instances she's even inspired them to say cruel things, throw things, and just generally be assholes in order to make Odysseus even more upset and prepared to slaughter them all.

Almost all of this was touched on in class today in one way or another, and is just something to think about while proceeding into books 21 and 22 (Oh man am I excited). I'm interested in other peoples' thoughts on whether or not the behavior of the suiters really justifies the inevitable deaths of every one of them. It's an interesting conundrum of morality (and possibly anger management).

Deus Ex Machina

Odysseus is a hero, this is pretty much a given. He is considered to be a heroic figure by literally everybody and that satisfies my idea of a hero pretty well. Nonetheless, he receives a huge amount of help from the gods, especially Athena, who has a tendency to protect him, guide him, and help him out at every twist and turn (Calypso's release of him, his survival of the shipwreck, his discovery of Nausicaa, protective mist, etc.) The big question is whether or not this detracts from his heroism.

A really big idea throughout The Odyssey is fate. All of the characters just accept that the gods will do what they want with the humans and that they have no influence over that. The gods are perceived to essentially be uncontrollable forces of nature, and so by extension, Odysseus is basically just having a whole lot of good luck by being helped by Athena so much. Still, it's fairly easy to understand divine intervention being considered "cheating" because the sole heroic trait that Odysseus has is how badly he wants to go home (although this is contested multiple places, but that's a whole separate blog post). If he makes it home without any struggle or adversity, he's hardly a hero at all.

However, it can certainly be argued that this "good luck" is more than outweighed by Poseidon's wrath. If this is the case, then I feel like Athena's constant deus ex machina doesn't matter so much anymore. After all, is Harry Potter no longer a hero just because his life is saved by his friends? Is Frodo Baggins no longer a hero because Sam was the one who forced him to give up the ring? The levels of adversity in all of these stories immensely justify the received help, and every character (even Odysseus to an extent) underwent a psychological transformation, granting them their heroism.

END HERO'S JOURNEY POSTS, BEGIN AFR. AM. LIT. POSTS

This blog has been recycled from one class to another, so this is the point where my posts on "The Hero's Journey" stop and my posts on African American literature begin. So stop scrolling.